LGBTQ Solidarity Ireland, a group of Polish and Irish queer students, are organising a protest to take place outside the Polish Embassy in Dublin in light of recent events.
It follows calls from the LGBT+ advocacy group, ILGA Europe, for international human rights institutions to make official complaints following the mass arrest of pro-LGBT+ activists in Poland.
Björn van Roozendaal of ILGA-Europe, stated, “The LGBT+ community is being denied the right to exist by the leading political party. LGBT+ people in Poland live in a situation of constant, repressive pressure with no access to justice or State protection.
“In circumstances like these, where marginalised members of society are being attacked from all sides, protest and activism are inevitable, and may even be considered provoked by the government’s failure to protect their fundamental rights and disproportionate law enforcement responses. Let us not forget this is happening in an EU country where the human rights of all citizens are deeply rooted in law.”
In an Instagram post, LGBTQ Solidarity Ireland shared, “This is a protest in solidarity with the Polish LGBTQ+ community at the Polish Embassy in Dublin. The rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Poland is currently under attack. In the past year, 1/3 of local councils in Poland have declared their counties and cities LGBTQ free zones. The president has declared the LGBTQ+ community an ideology not people.
“On August 7th, the current government and police force of Poland carried out violent suppression of LGBTQ+ activists. Several hundred protests gathered at head-quarters of the Campaign Against Homophobia to resist the arrest of Margot. The demonstrators remained peaceful, but were met with beatings from uniformed and plain-clothes police officers. 48 activists were forcibly arrested and are now facing up to three years in prison.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere! Show your solidarity. Mask strongly advised. Social distance mandatory.”
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